


When it's Too Late to Say, "Don't Go" (Say, "Come Back")

by PitchonthePitch



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: AU in which we actually get to see Bonnie happy, Bonnie works in a lab, Damon is Unhappy, Damon misses Bonnie, F/M, Grief/Mourning, I'm so sorry I know nothing about science lmao, Takes place after finale, studying petri dishes and shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-11-30 23:22:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11473812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PitchonthePitch/pseuds/PitchonthePitch
Summary: Bamon Phone Call 2.0!In which Damon is both happy and sad (but mostly sad) (just sad, really) and Bonnie is actually happy





	1. Chapter 1

 

Damon couldn't sleep.  So, as usual, he did something stupid instead.

He called Bonnie.

Three rings, and her voice rang out clear on the other line.  "And here I thought you had forgotten how to use a phone in your old age."

"Bon Bon," he greeted.  "You know, it's that sense of humor I miss most about you.  This isn't a bad time, is it?"  A thought occurred to him.  "I didn't wake you up, did I?"  He realized he had no idea what time it was.

"Actually, you just interrupted a kickass game of beach volleyball."

"Ooh, beach volleyball.  Someone's embracing the Cali lifestyle."  He heard a girl giggle in the background.  Then he heard, "Babe, are we playing this round without you?" and something sharp twisted in his gut.  Feigning casualty, he asked, "Who's that?"

"Play without me," she told Mr. Volleyball.  "I have to take this."  To Damon, she said, "That is Connor."

"He sounds friendly."

He could hear her hesitation.  "We've sort of been seeing each other."  He could hear a sliding door open and close as she stepped inside a house.  

"Oh," he said, even though he'd expected as much.  "So, how'd you meet the guy?"

"We work at the same lab."

"Ah, yes, and nothing says romance like slicing into corpses, side by side."

"I keep telling you that's not what I do," she said, and now he could hear she was smiling.  She added, "I saw enough dead bodies in Mystic Falls to last a lifetime," and for some reason, that comment stung a little.  Maybe because most of the dead bodies in Mystic Falls were dead because of Damon.  Maybe because she sounded happier since leaving town than she had since -- well, since Damon first arrived in Mystic Falls.  

"Fine, then," he said.  "Studying petri dishes -- not as romantic as slicing corpses, but a close second.  I can see the appeal."

"Well, what can I say?  It's not as much fun as magic, but...  Actually, I kind of love it."  She sounded surprised at the realization.  "Everything else in my life has been so unstable, but this job -- it's nice to have something that makes sense to me.  And science does.  I don't have to ask my ancestors for help or worry about losing control.  And I'm not bringing anyone back from the dead.  I'm just examining life, at its most basic form."

"And what about Mr. Volleyball?" 

"Connor loves it too."

"No, I mean...  You said you love your job.  Do you love him?"

She laughed.  "Connor?  He's not even my boyfriend.  We just started dating."  He didn't know why that made the knot in his gut feel a little looser.  Bonnie was saying, "I grieved.  I'm still grieving for Enzo, everyday.  But I think he would want me to move on."  There was a pause.  "Right?" she asked.

He feigned surprise.  "Is Bonnie Bennett asking Damon Salvatore for his opinion?"

"Right.  What was I thinking.  Seriously, though?" she said, holding out for an answer.

"It's okay to move on," he said.  "Enzo would want you to be happy."  It was the truth.  Even if it wasn't, he still would've said it.  Bonnie deserved to be happy.  She deserved to put her happiness first, for once, instead of worrying about everyone else.

He could imagine the smile spreading on her face, ever so softly.  "Here I am, going on about my life," she said.  "What about you?  How's Elena?"

"She's great," he said.  "We're -- I finally got what I wanted."

"Your happily ever after," she said.  He couldn't bring himself to agree, so he said nothing.  Lying by omission.  A Damon Salvatore specialty.  A minute went by in silence.  He listened to her breathing on the other line.  "You are, right?" she asked.  "Happy?"

"So happy."  Lying by lying.  Another Damon Salvatore specialty.  

Actually, was it really lying if he was happy  _for her?_

Either way, Bonnie must have heard it in his voice that something was wrong.  "Damon," she said, "I wanted to be there for you, after Stefan.  But you had Elena, and I..."  

_You had me._

"I had to get out," she finished.  "After Enzo.  I couldn't be in Mystic Falls anymore.  You know, you and Elena should do the same.  Get out.  Go on one of your infamous road trips."

"I can't go on a trip with Elena," he said, without thinking.  Bonnie always did have a way of getting the truth out of him.  Or, at least, making him feel guilty for keeping it from her.

"Why not?" she was asking, and he was slipping.  So often, he struggled to walk the line between being selfish and being deceitful.  Especially when it came to Bonnie.  Was it better to lie and leave her in peace or tell the truth and risk destroying this new life she'd built for herself?  Stefan would know the answer.  But Stefan wasn't there anymore.  Why couldn't he go on a trip with Elena?

_Because then we'd be stuck with each other,_  he thought. _Without even Matt Donovan for company._  What he said was, "Did this place really make you that miserable?"  Ah, yes, deflection.  When he couldn't lie, he could always deflect.

"You're deflecting," she said, easily.  He winced.  "And you could try being happy for me," she added.

"I am happy.  I'm so happy that you're happy, now that you don't have Mystic Falls holding you back anymore."

"I never said Mystic Falls was holding me back!"

"Well, you sure sound a lot happier now that you left Mystic Falls alone."

She hissed in a breath.  "First of all, I did not leave Mystic Falls alone!  Mystic Falls had Elena keeping it perfectly good company.  Second of all," and here her voice hitched a little, turning soft.  "You and I both know that I would have stayed, if I thought Mystic Falls needed me.  If it had just asked."

Damon couldn't help it.  "What if I asked now?  I'm not," he added.  "I'm not asking.  But... what if I was?"

Again, her voice hitched.  It came out coarse and rough.  "Then I'd say no, Damon."  Before he had time to respond, she said, "Why don't you come here?  You and Elena--" 

"I can't.  Not with Elena."

"Why not?  What aren't you telling me?"

"Bonnie, every time I look at her, I see Stefan!  She does the same to me.  I swear, sometimes I can feel her searching for him in my face.  And every time, I can feel how disappointed she is when she realizes it's just me.  Not a trace of my brother to be found.  Sometimes I think she only sticks around because I'm the last reminder she has of him."  He hesitated before adding, "Sometimes I think it's the same for me."

Bonnie's voice was a murmur on the other line.  "Remember when you and I lost Elena?  It just brought us closer together.  The same can happen now.  All you need to do is talk to her."

"You and me getting closer had nothing to do with Elena.  Not for me."

When Bonnie spoke, her voice was steel.  "Come to LA, Damon.  Bring Elena."  She added, a little lighter, "I've been seeing a grief specialist.  I can introduce you--"

"I don't talk about my feelings.  Not well."

"Yes, you do," she said.  "Better than you think."

_Come home,_ he thought, but what he said was, "I'll think about it."  They said their goodbyes.  Bonnie hung up and went back to her volleyball game.  Back to the guy she was seeing.  Back to her new life.  Damon went back to his old one.  Back to the front room of the Boarding House.

A small voice rang out from behind him.  "Damon?"  Elena's face stilled when she saw the phone still cradled in his hand and the look on his face.  "How's Bonnie?"  When it became clear that he couldn't fathom an answer to that question, she shook her head and walked out the door.

He didn't stop her.  He did something stupid.

He went online and ordered one plane ticket to LA.  

Bonnie was going to kill him.  

But at least she'd have to do it in person.


	2. Call from a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically just a phone call between Elena and Caroline, after Damon's left for Cali

“Hey, Elena,” Caroline greeted. “How’s my favorite vampire turned human?”

  
“Um, not very good.” On the other line, Caroline could hear the way her friend’s voice cracked, like she’d just gotten done crying. “Damon left me.”

  
“He -- he what?”

  
“He just left.”

  
Caroline was stunned. Then she was angry. “I’m gonna kill him. Bonnie’s gonna kill him. And then we’ll drag his ass back to Mystic Falls so you can kill him. After everything that’s happened, he just left you?”

  
“Caroline, listen,” Elena said, cutting into her ranting. “It’s a long story. So I don’t want you to interrupt me until I’m done, okay?”

  
“You know that will be hard for me.” Caroline sighed. “Fine. What’s the story?”

 

***

 

 “So that’s it?” Elena said. “You’re gonna go visit Bonnie in California because it’s easier than facing reality here? Because she doesn’t remind you of him?”

  
“No. I’m going to go visit Bonnie because I miss her.” Damon looked around and, probably realizing that he didn’t own a suitcase, grabbed Stefan’s old backpack and began throwing things in it. If this were a normal day -- if they were going on a trip together, Elena would’ve gloated, saying, wasn’t he glad now that she’d talked him out of burning down the boarding house or throwing out all of Stefan’s things? But this wasn’t a normal day. Damon said, “I’m not losing anyone else.” She could tell by the way he said it he was talking to himself, not her. He hadn’t looked her in the face once since he told her he was leaving.

  
So she grabbed his face, forcing him to look at her. “Yes, you are, Damon. Right now.”

  
When he looked at her, she saw that his eyes were filled with remorse. But they didn’t contain a trace of hesitancy. He was decided. “I’m sorry, Elena.”

The last nail in the coffin. She was used to Damon saying he wasn’t sorry. In a strange way, his adamant lack of apology was what kept them going, a lot of the time. He screwed up and refused to take responsibility for his actions; she yelled at him until he walked away in a huff; then, sooner or later, he did something to win her back. Usually, the rare moments that Damon took responsibility meant that Elena needed to defend him, say whatever screw up he did was okay; they would find a way to get through it. But this wasn’t okay. And they wouldn’t be getting through it.

So, for once, she didn’t defend him or condemn him. She let his face go, took a step back. There was no big fight. No explosion of rage from Damon. No tears from Elena. No make-up sex. For once, it was just quiet between them.

  
“I’m sorry too,” Elena said, after what seemed like an eternity of silence. “Because I thought that I couldn’t live without you, but this” -- she illustrated this with a wave of her hands -- “isn’t living.”

  
He didn’t disagree.

  
“I won’t be here when you get back,” she added.

  
He didn’t ask her not to go.

 

***

 

Surprisingly, it was a minute before Caroline’s voice spoke on the other line. “I’m so sorry, Elena. But -- I’m also confused. If it was such an amicable split, why do you sound like you’ve been crying?”

  
Elena hesitated. “I wouldn’t say it was an amicable split. More like, it was hopeless relationship. It took us awhile, but I think we finally realized we’re a lost cause.”

  
“You’re not a lost cause, Elena.”

  
“Not by myself,” she said. “But I would have been, if we stayed together. Damon and I --” she faltered. “When we were good, we were great. But we weren’t good very often, were we.” It wasn’t a question. “And since Stefan died… there hasn’t been a whole lot of good to go around. None at all, really.” Her voice became thoughtful, as she decided, “I think, maybe, I should be with someone who’s good for me even during the bad times. Especially during the bad times. Anyway,” she added, sounding marginally brighter. “There’s more to the story.”

  
The intrigue in Caroline’s voice was audible. “More than you and Damon breaking up? This I’ve got to hear.”

 

***

 

She was telling the truth when she said she hadn’t cried with Damon.  
It wasn’t until Matt came over that she cried.

  
“Really?” Caroline said, surprised.

  
“I know. I just opened the door for him, and the tears came pouring out. He probably thought I was crazy,” Elena said, making a noise in her throat that was almost a laugh, but not quite. “But what can I say? Matt’s always been there for me, you know? Everything else about my life has been constantly changing… I lost my parents, and then Stefan and Damon came to town, and they were new and exciting. And then I found out vampires are real, and my boyfriend was a vampire, and Bonnie was a witch, and then I became a vampire, something I never wanted to be. Every one of us has changed so much. Matt’s the only one who’s always stayed the same. Maybe that’s why it was so easy to open up to him. Because I know I can always rely on him to be there for me. To always be Matt.”

  
“So what happened?” Caroline pressed.

 

***

 

“I’ll never be Bonnie. And no one will ever be Stefan.” She had to speak between sobs. “That was always our problem. It’s so obvious now. We could never accept each other for who we really are. We were always just in love with the idea of who we could’ve been. Why did I do that? Why did I let myself fall in love with a fantasy when I had the real thing right in front of me?”

  
Matt rubbed comforting circles into her back, the same way he used to when they were dating. “Because if you didn’t have to accept him for who he is, that meant you didn’t have to accept yourself for who you are. Because you had just become a vampire, something you never wanted to be, and maybe watching Damon revel in it made you believe you could too.”

  
She sniffled. “I didn’t think he would want me anymore. Not the way he did when I was human. Like, he thought I was broken or something. And then he fell in love with Caroline. God, I’m so stupid.”

  
“You’re not stupid,” he said. “You’re Elena. And that’s enough. It’s always been enough.”

 

***

 

Another moment of silence.

  
“I’m sorry,” Elena said, suddenly. “I should’ve left that last part out. About Stefan.”

  
“It’s okay,” Caroline said. “You actually reminded me of a really good time for me and Stefan. The first time we became friends, actually. I had just become a vampire. I didn’t think I would be able to ever get control of it. But Stefan, he believed in me. Accepted me for who I was. Heightened neuroticism and all.” There was a pause, as the small smile on her face faded. “I’m sorry he couldn’t do the same for you.”

  
“The only reason he couldn’t is because I didn’t let him. I guess that whole saying holds some truth. ‘You have to love yourself before you can love anybody else.’ I think it’s more the opposite, though. Like, you have to love yourself before you can let anyone else love you. Flaws and all.”

  
“He did love you, Elena. He maybe wasn’t _in_ love with you anymore. But he did _love_ you.”

  
“Maybe,” Elena said. “But not as much as he resented me, for what I put him through. Falling for his brother. Just like Katherine.”

  
Caroline was quick to say, “You are nothing like Katherine.

 

"But,” she added, a teasing note in her voice, “speaking of ‘falling’ for someone. What else happened with you and Matt? After you finished crying on him, I mean.”

  
“Nothing else happened,” Elena said. “We hugged. He left. It’s like I said: the great thing about Matt is he never changes. He’ll always be my best friend. We wouldn’t work as anything more.”

  
“If you say so."  Serious tone back, Caroline said, “Have you been seeing anyone? Since Stefan died.”

  
“Like a therapist?”

  
“Yeah, like a therapist.” Elena’s silence was answer enough. “Your ‘best friend,’ Matt, has the number of a great one. You should ask him about that the next time he comes over and consoles you.”

  
“Matt sees a therapist?” The surprise in her voice was audible.

  
“He has. On and off, since Vicki died.” Her voice came out a little smaller, a little more tinny, as she said, “He offered me the number when Mom died. I should’ve taken it, instead of --” Her voice cut off. It would always haunt her, the memory of all the people who got hurt during her grief spiral. “I should’ve let someone help me, the same way I let Stefan help me when I turned. I should’ve let someone in.” She paused, letting Elena process that painful truth. “You should let someone in, Elena. Even if it’s the best friend you’re scared of losing. Even if it’s a therapist you’re nervous about seeing for the first time.”

  
Elena let out a breath. “You’re right. I know you’re right.”

  
They said goodbye. Elena promised she would ask Matt about the therapist. Caroline promised she was doing okay and told a few anecdotes about her daughters. They both got off the phone feeling better. God knows there had been a few ups and downs in their friendship over the years, but their love for Stefan, not to mention the rest of their friends, would always keep them together.

 

Speaking of the rest of their friends.  
After they hung up, Caroline promptly dialed Bonnie.  
Because if she knew Damon at all, she knew that he wouldn’t call Bonnie before dragging his Elena-less ass on a plane to California, no doubt with plans of confessing his unrequited love for her.

  
The phone answered, “It’s Bonnie. Leave me a message.”

  
Caroline spluttered. “You, my friend, picked the worst time not to answer your phone! Damon’s on his way to California. _Alone._ He and Elena _broke up._ I think we both know where he’s going with this. Call him. Before he gets on that plane!” Her voice went unexpectedly soft as she added, “Let him down easy.” She may have hated Damon, but he lost Stefan too. He didn’t deserve to lose Bonnie on top of that, and she sure as hell didn’t deserve to lose him on top of Enzo.  

“And call me back!” she added. “I wanna hear every detail!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, besides the serious lack of Bamon in this chapter, how'd you guys like it??? Lol there's gonna be a part 3, but I'm not really sure when I'll be able to post it. I started on it, but it's a mess rn haha. I'm about to finish one of my summer classes, though, so I'll hopefully have more time to write.
> 
> (Side note: is the format okay??? Like, just let me know if the paragraph structure was driving you crazy while you read this, and I'll change it) (I have no idea what I'm doing lmao)
> 
> Feel free to comment!


	3. One Surprise Visit and Several Surprise Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I lied! This will actually be a four part series. 
> 
> I'm not super happy with this chapter, but I promised you guys I'd publish it before September, and I won't have time to work on it the rest of the week, so... Hope you like it!
> 
> Damon visits Bonnie, and Bonnie learns something about Connor.

“I know what you’re doing.”

Connor glanced up from his position bent over the table to find Nikita staring him down. She had one brow raised, flashing her all-knowing glare -- the same glare, Connor thought, that was mastered by every nosy little sister.

Smoothing out the last of the tablecloth’s wrinkles, he stood up straight to look at her. “I thought I was setting a table. But I can tell by your face that I’m actually doing something much more exciting.”

He could hear someone clear their throat behind him.

“Don’t think you’re fooling anyone,” Carina said, walking around to stand at his sister’s side. Great. He was being double-teamed. “The table’s set. You put the hanging lights up.” He glanced up to where the lights dangled from the rafters, involuntarily. He wanted to make sure they were perfect. “I mean, you lit candles, for Christ sake! It’s obvious.” Carina was grinning. “You’re telling Bonnie tonight, aren’t you?”

His sister would’ve been bad enough on her own. Together, she and her girlfriend were a two headed beast, staring him down until he cracked. Connor said, “I might be thinking about it.”

“Called it.” They looked at each other with matching grins. Nikita said, “I should’ve put money on it.”

“Like anyone would take that bet,” answered her other half.

Connor, as usual, was the sole point of contention. “Maybe it’s too soon. We’ve only been dating a month.” He sat down at the table and let his head hang in his hands. He briefly considered ripping the tablecloth off and putting the candles and the dangly lights away. He and Bonnie could have a movie night instead, and everything would remain normal between them.

“Five weeks,” Carina said. “Don’t pretend you haven’t been counting.” She shook her head at him and tsked.

Connor rolled his eyes. He was still playing over his doubts, mostly talking to himself and trying to ignore his two favorite bad influences. “Maybe she’d be better off not knowing. Maybe, if she had the choice, she’d rather go her whole life thinking that the monster under her bed and the thing that goes bump in the night really are imaginary. Maybe she’ll think I’m some weirdo fanatic who’s crazy for chasing after all the monsters. God, maybe I’ll tell her, and she’ll dump me on the spot.” Somebody had to be the voice of reason here.

“Connor,” Nikita said. “Look at me.”

He did.

She said, “You two crazy kids could get married and live happily ever together -- or she could dump your ass in a week for some hot Italian guy.” Connor huffed; Nikita ignored him. “What I’m saying is, Bonnie’s not just your girlfriend! She’s a part of all our lives, and that won’t change, even if you break up.”

Carina nodded. Looking solemn, she said, “The girl let me borrow a pair of five inch heels and didn’t even get mad when I chipped one of them! She’s family now.”

“Plus, she makes, like, really good pancakes,” said Nikita.

Connor sent them both withering looks. “I like Bonnie just as much as you guys. More, actually. But liking someone a lot doesn’t automatically make them family, and it doesn’t mean I should tell her my deepest secret.”

Nikita met him with an equally withering look. “I wasn’t always family, either, Step Brother.”

“Me neither, futuro cuñado de mío.” A second withering look came from Carina. He was being double-teamed hard. “There are no guarantees when it comes to deciding to trust someone.”

“But how else are we supposed to know if someone’s really ours? If we don’t trust them with everything?”

***

Bonnie wasn’t an idiot.

Nikita and Carina had left the apartment the moment she came over, exchanging secret smiles. Connor had set the table and ordered from her favorite Chinese place. Dangly lights were hanging from the rafters. He lit candles, for God’s sake!

She’d been spending the night at his apartment a lot more the last few weeks. He was going to ask her to move in.

It was obvious. So, why was she so surprised?

She liked Connor. She liked spending time with him at work, at his apartment -- God, she loved his apartment. The walls, all red and orange and brown, and the dark wood cabinets all made the place feel warm and cozy and… home. Going to Connor’s apartment for the first time was like coming home after a storm. Within the few weeks that she’d known them, he and Nikita and Carina had become like a family to her. They made her feel safe.

And, honestly? The thought of living with them made her ecstatic.

But the thought of living with them because she was dating Connor made her feel…

It made her feel more than safe. It made her feel suffocated.

Maybe she had convinced herself their relationship was more casual than Connor thought it was. Maybe she wanted it to be more casual than it was.

Maybe she wasn’t ready for candlelit dinners and moving in with someone new.

Now, Connor smiled at her, and it sent a pang through her chest. She laid a hand on his, on the fancy tablecloth. “Connor,” she started, “this dinner is so sweet, and you’re a great guy--”

Her phone went off.

“I’m sorry,” she said, pulling it out. “It’s probably Caroline; she called me earlier, but I was busy.” She went to hit the Ignore Call button until she saw that it wasn’t Caroline calling but Damon.

Her thumb wavered over the button. They hadn’t left their last phone call on a very good note. She was worried about him. Suddenly, she felt a surge of hope, wondering if maybe he’d come around and decided that he and Elena visiting LA really was a good idea.

Connor must have been able to read the hesitancy on her face. “Go ahead,” he said. “I know you’re worried about him.”

She looked up from the phone. “How did you know--?”

“You have your Damon face on. And you’re always worried about him.”

“I’m sorry.”

He just smiled.

She picked up the phone. “Two calls in two days. Aren’t I popular?”

Damon’s voice rang out on the other line, and it sent a wave of reassurance through her. She’d never tell him so, but Damon had an extraordinary way of calming her down, just by being himself. “Listen, Bonnie, I’ve been thinking about what you said. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to spend some time in Cali. Get a tan.”

“Damon, that’s great! And not just because I’ll get to see you fail at tanning, Edward Cullen.” She cast a look at Connor as she said it. He was smiling again, but it was a little strained looking this time. When he caught her looking, though, the strain disappeared. She thought maybe she had imagined it.

On the other line, Damon was saying, “I resent that. I do not, nor have I ever, sparkled in the sun.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it. I’m so excited to see you, but can we talk about this later? Like, after you and Elena decide what day you’re gonna come down here? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

“About that…”

Her voice went flat. “What.” Bonnie wasn’t an idiot. She knew what Damon sounded like when he was about to do something that she wouldn’t like.

Knocking came at the door then, and Connor went to answer it. “Long story short?” said Damon. “You’re gonna wanna get that.”

The longer story was, since Bonnie had already texted Damon her address, he took the liberty of making a surprise visit to see her. Minus Elena. Who was no longer speaking to him. And probably wouldn’t want to talk to Bonnie for awhile, either.

“I’m gonna kill you,” Bonnie said. “And then I’m gonna haul your ass back to Mystic Falls so Elena can kill you. And then I’m gonna kill you again!”

“I knew you’d be happy to see me.”

“Are you two broken up?”

“Well, she told me she’ll be moved out of the boarding house by the time I get back. So, probably.”

Bonnie ran a hand over her face in horror. Connor spoke up for the first time since Damon had arrived. “I don’t suppose you’ve looked into a place to stay while you’re here?”

Damon had not looked into a place to stay while he was there.

Connor said, “I have an extra blanket in my room. You can sleep on the couch for now.” Bonnie started to protest. Connor stopped her with a wave of the hand. “It’s fine, babe.”

Damon rolled his eyes at the pet name, but both he and Bonnie let Connor go get the blankets without another word.

Bonnie stared daggers at him when they were alone. Up close, he looked awful. He’d shaved, and he was wearing a dark button-down and jeans, but there was nothing he could do to mask the dark circles under his eyes.

He smirked, and seeing that smirk beneath those tired eyes was like seeing the old Damon smashed in with the new Damon. It was like seeing his happiness and his grief all at once. “Admit it. You’re at least a little happy to see me.”

All at once, she had her arms wrapped around him; a hug was long overdue. Damon sighed into the hug, wrapping his own arms around her and resting his chin on top of her head. It was a long time before she pulled back.

“Of course I’m happy to see you, Damon. But I’m also worried about you.”

The smile fell from his face; he crossed his arms, looking defensive. If he had just jutted his bottom lip out a tiny bit more, he would’ve looked like a six year old pouting. He was just that stubborn, when it came to talking about things he didn’t want to talk about. Like his recent nervous breakdown, for instance.

He already lost his brother. Why did he insist on throwing away his relationship too? Why was he so damn self destructive? It was enough to draw a huge wave of sympathy from Bonnie, but that just made the worry churn worse in her stomach. And when Bonnie got worried, she got imperious.

She crossed her arms, mirroring him. “There are three people who live in this apartment. Connor, his sister, and her girlfriend. Now as long as you’re here -- which won’t be more than a month, tops -- you are going to follow their house rules and be a complete gentleman. And if Connor, Nikita, or Carina decides they don’t want you here anymore, you’re gone.”

“Or I could just stay at your apartment,” offered Damon.

“You’re not staying at my apartment,” she said. Connor uttered a similar sentiment as he walked past with the blanket. “Also,” she said, “you will go see Dr. Ramirez with me.”

“Who’s that?”

“My grief counselor.”

Damon made a face.

Bonnie shrugged. “Those are my terms.”

They had a deal.

***

Usually, the best part of Bonnie’s job was getting to lose herself in her work -- to forget about Mystic Falls and Enzo and the hopeful little future she was cultivating here in LA.

It got to be too much sometimes, remembering her old life and hoping, hoping, hoping that her new one would be better. That the happiness she had found here would last.

Sometimes she didn’t know what she would do if it didn’t last. There were moments when she became terrified that the pain she experienced in Mystic Falls would follow her here. She thought of her parents and her Grams and Enzo, and she thought, what if every family she ever had was doomed to die before her?

People like her could never seem to stay away from danger. There were the Big Bads of the world, and there were the victims, and then there was Bonnie, caught in the middle. She righted the wrongs, protected the innocents; she kept the balance of the world in check.

The truth was, Bonnie loved being a witch. But if being a witch meant putting Connor, Nikita, and Carina at risk, then she would renounce the title gladly. She would, if she could. It never ended well for people like her. It never ended well for people that loved people like her.

When Bonnie got overwhelmed with the truth of who she was -- what it meant to be Bonnie Bennett -- she threw herself into her work. She was throwing herself into it now. She had barely said two words to Connor since they got to the lab. (Not that they usually spoke much more than that. Their supervisor, Professor Valitche, didn’t know that they were dating, and they wanted to keep it that way.)

But as much as she focused on lab reports and filing, she couldn’t ignore it -- the sound of her worlds colliding. Her old life was crashing into her new one, and she couldn’t ignore it.

She wondered what Damon was doing. If he was still at Connor’s apartment. If he would be there when she got back. (He better.) She thought about that morning.

Damon had been pouting. The bustle of everyone getting ready for work had woken him up. He stretched out on the couch and let out a yawn and pouted.

Then he tried to convince Bonnie that her time would be better spent not going to the job she loved, but to go out drinking with him.

Nikita and Carina both said they were okay with Damon staying at their place. But Bonnie had noticed how disappointed they looked the night before, when they came home and saw that Connor and Bonnie’s dinner had been interrupted by his arrival.

That morning, though, they looked more amused than anything else. They were exchanging smiles and eye rolls as Damon pestered Bonnie.

“Come on, Bon Bon. Which would you rather pick? Petri dishes in a boring lab or a fun day spent with your best friend?”

Bonnie pretended to think about it. “I’ll take petri dishes. And I’ll see you at four-thirty, best friend. Don’t forget about grief therapy.”

Damon muttered, “Drinking is my grief therapy.”

As she and Connor left, she could hear Nikita say, in an overly casual voice, “You wouldn’t happen to be italian, would you?”

She looked at Connor, to see if he had heard that odd comment. He was running a hand through his hair, which could’ve meant that he was upset but also could’ve meant that he hadn’t combed through it that morning.

“Thanks again,” she said to him. “For letting Damon sleep on your couch. I swear I am going to get him back on his feet and back to Mystic Falls as soon as possible.”

“Don’t even worry about it,” he said. He took her hand and started swinging it in his as they walked toward the elevator. It was… nice. Everything about Connor was nice, and things were so easy between them. She found herself wondering why she had let herself get so stressed out at dinner. Things were good between them.

The elevator opened, and they stepped in. “Besides,” he added, clicking the button for the first floor with his free hand. The hand still holding Bonnie’s rubbed circles against the bottom of her thumb. “You can make it up to me by having dinner with me tonight. Since we didn’t get to finish yesterday.” Looking shy, he added, “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

And that’s when she remembered why she was so stressed out at dinner.

Because Connor was great, and things were good between them, but --

“Bonnie?”

Snapped out of her thoughts, her head snapped up from where she was scribbling notes in the lab notebook. Professor Valitche was smiling at her. “Good work today. Now do you think you could take a break from that lab report and go pick something up for me? We just got some new equipment delivered.”

“No problem,” Bonnie answered. She headed out of the room and then froze when she realized she’d forgotten her ID card. She needed it to verify her work status if she wanted to pick up that new lab equipment.

God, she really was out of it today. She headed back to the lab room. As she started to open the door, she heard Professor Valitche’s voice and froze. “Miss Bennett is going to think that you resigned from this job. But really, what’s going to happen is, I’m going to kill you, and then the rest of your little hunting team will know not to mess with things that don’t concern them.”

Bonnie unfroze. She whipped the lab door open and charged in.

Professor Valitche had Connor pinned by the shoulders, fangs poised over his neck.

“Bonnie,” Connor greeted. He held a dagger clenched between his white-knuckled fingers. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

There was no time to be shocked. Only to act.

She took a step forward, hand raised. “Motus.”

Professor Valitche flew back. Connor’s eyes went wide.

Bonnie said, “There’s something I need to tell you too.”

 

***

Bonnie and Damon did not go to therapy that day. She and Connor didn’t reschedule for dinner. Nikita and Carina’s date night was cancelled.

They were all gathered in the front area of the apartment for what Connor called an emergency meeting. Damon reclaimed his spot on the couch. Nikita and Carina pushed him to the side and sat next to him. Bonnie and Connor took the chairs on either side of the couch.

Connor looked at Bonnie. “Do you want to go first, or should I?”

“You go. Damon needs to be filled in on everything you told me.”

Connor nodded. He explained everything. He and Nikita had both grown up hunting. His father started hunting when Connor’s mom was killed by a vampire; Connor had learned alongside him. Nikita was a third generation hunter. Her father had died on a hunting trip when she was twelve.

When Connor was sixteen and she was fifteen, their families ran into each other, hunting the same group of vampires. They teamed up, and from that day on, they kept teaming up. It made sense for them to hunt together. There was strength in numbers, and they worked well together.

Along the way, their parents fell in love.

Since then, Connor and Nikita had both moved from their rural California hometown to Los Angeles. They went to school and kept an eye out for news of strange “animal attacks.” Now, hunting was like a second job to them.

Damon cocked a brow at Carina. “When did you get in on the gig?”

Nikita took her hand, interlocking their fingers. “Carina and I had been dating a couple months when I told her about the family business.”

Carina smiled. “It was the same night she asked me to be her girlfriend.”

Bonnie slid a look over at Connor. He looked away.

Damon caught the movement. “This just got awkward. Guess that was an important dinner I interrupted.”

Oh. Connor wasn’t going to ask her to move in with him. He just wanted her to be his girlfriend.

Suddenly, Bonnie felt like an idiot. Of course that was what he was going to ask her. They were dating. Connor wasn’t looking for a roommate; he was looking for a girlfriend.

He and Nikita and Carina weren’t looking for a new addition to their little family. And that realization broke Bonnie’s heart a little.

“So,” Connor was saying, “Damon’s all filled in. Now, for the reason Nikita and Carina had to skip date night…” He proceeded to tell them about Professor Valitche attacking him. “She was trying to send a message to you two,” he said. “She knew we were tracking her clan. Do you realize what this means?”

Damon interjected. “That you three need to work on your stealth when tracking vampires?”

“It means we’re getting close to finding where the clan lives,” said Nikita. She looked oddly excited for someone whose brother had almost died that day.

But then, Bonnie thought, that was probably the way all hunters were wired. It must require a bit of insanity, chasing after monsters. Bonnie was a part of this world; she didn’t get a choice. It startled her, to think of people like Connor and Nikita and Carina, normal people, stepping into her world voluntarily.

Connor was looking at her now. “Your turn.”

“I’m a witch.” She said it like ripping off a band-aid. Then she looked at Nikita and Carina, gauging their reactions. Carina’s jaw fell. Nikita grinned.

Carina said, “That’s how you revived my plant!”

Nikita said, “That’s the secret to your pancakes, isn’t it?”

Bonnie laughed. “I’ll never tell.”

Then she looked at Damon, waiting. Connor had told them everything. It seemed only fair that Damon be honest too.

He looked back at her and smiled, not saying a word. He knew exactly what she was waiting for, but Damon wasn’t one to explain himself to others without a certain level of prompting.

“Damon? Do you have something you’d like to say?”

“Not really, but thanks for asking, Bon Bon.”

She stared him down until he let out a huff. “My name is Damon, and I’m a newly cured vampire.”

 

***

The next morning, they ate pancakes and finalized plans for going after Valitche’s coven.

Damon was being annoying. “I just got out of the vampire gig. I’m not going back in.” He tore off another piece of pancake and talked around it while he chewed. “I’m gonna stay here and enjoy my life as a human.”

Bonnie was annoyed. “First of all, sleeping on Connor’s couch is not the same as having a life.”

“Your boyfriend doesn’t mind. Right, Connor?”

Connor opened his mouth and then closed it. Bonnie fought the urge to say, “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Second of all,” she said, instead, “no one asked you to come with us.”

“She’s right,” Connor said. “You shouldn’t come. You’re not a vampire anymore, and you don’t have our training.” Damon’s eyes narrowed. It was one thing to decide on his own he wasn’t going; being told he couldn’t go was something else.

Connor hesitated before he added, “You shouldn’t come either, Bonnie.”

She huffed. “Have you already forgotten how I saved you from Valitche? I may not be a hunter, but I can handle vampires.”

Damon offered an affirming nod.

Nikita spoke up. “You’ve hunted vampires before?”

Damon said, “Bonnie’s hunted pretty much every Big Bad that’s ever stepped foot in Mystic Falls.”

They looked at Bonnie. She nodded. “It’s true.”

Connor still looked unsure. Nikita must have been able to tell, because she said, “If Bonnie says she can handle vampires, I believe her.”

“So do I,” Carina echoed.

They all looked at Connor, waiting. “I’m still worried,” Connor said. “But I believe in you. Always.”

Bonnie smiled.

Damon rolled his eyes. “Alright then,” he sighed. “I guess we’re coming along on your little crusade.”

Bonnie raised a brow at him. “‘We?’”

“Yes, ‘we,’ and no one even think of saying I need training.” He spun his fork around in his hand, looking down at it like it was a stake. “I may not be a vampire anymore, but I still know how to kill one.”

If they were in Mystic Falls, Bonnie thought, this is the part where someone would make a crack about needing collateral or a human shield or getting Damon off their couch, dead or alive. So much death happened in Mystic Falls, sometimes humor was the only way to cope with it.

It wasn’t like that here. Connor only said, “Stay with the group. We’re safer in numbers.”

They made a plan of attack and agreed to go after the clan that night. “They’ll be looking for retribution, after Valitche,” said Nikita. “We need to go after them before they come after us again.”

Connor nodded. “Let’s end this. Once and for all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So..., yeah. I hope you guys liked it?? 
> 
> There will be a part four, but I don't know when I'll be able to publish it by. I've been taking classes about my school, and I'm about to start a new one (it's a late-start). Plus I'm busy with a few other things, so I don't have a lot of time for writing atm.
> 
> But there will be a part four! lol eventually. At least by October :)
> 
>  
> 
> In the meantime, here's a small preview of part four:
> 
> “Are you sure you want to do this?”
> 
> Damon turned and offered her a smirk. “Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing.”
> 
> “I’m serious, Damon. You’re human now. You’re not invincible.” 
> 
> “Trust me, Bon Bon, I am well aware of my newfound mortality. It’s you I’m worried about.” His eyes were dark and endless, the quality they took on whenever he was serious about something. “Beach Boy seems nice and all, but is he really worth risking your life over?”
> 
> She sighed. “I’m not happy about this either. I didn’t come to California to take down more evil vampires, you know.”
> 
> “Then why not come back home?” He bit his lip, like he hadn’t meant to say that.
> 
> She bit her own lip. “Because Mystic Falls isn’t home anymore.” She felt guilty for saying it, but it was the truth. “And I can’t just abandon Connor and Nikita and Carina. I can’t lose anyone else, Damon.”
> 
>  
> 
> Aaand that's all I have written so far! lol hope you're psyched to read the rest. Feel free to leave a comment if you liked chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah! Damon's gonna go visit Bonnie in Cali. I couldn't leave him totally miserable in Mystic Falls. I'm not gonna continue the story from here, though. We all know how it would end, anyway. Damon goes to Cali, confesses his feelings to Bonnie, and they (maybe?) live happily ever after. Someone else can feel free to pick this story up where I left off, but if not, I'm happy with leaving it open-ended.   
> Hope you guys liked it! Feel free to comment


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